No nuova Giulietta ’til 2014?

File under things I don’t understand: Fiat takes over Chrysler, suddenly has North American distribution for a vastly improved car fleet — which includes such storied marques as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati and Lancia — from the days when Fiat and Alfa left the U.S. market, tail between their legs. Fiat’s nuova 500, aka the Cinquecento, already a hit in Europe, will be available to American premium small-car fans by the end of this year. All well and good.

But the real halo car is the redesigned, third-generation Alfa Romeo Giulietta, which launches in Europe now, and for which Alfisti and other American car fanatics will have to wait until 2014? This, after rebadged Mopar SUVs (the current Jeep Liberty-Ram Nitro hooptie) with the Alfa arrowhead grille will hit American dealerships. When you have a car as solid as the new Giulietta, why do you want to wait four years to launch this hot hatch in a market you’re stating is important to revitalizing the marque, after selling some less-than-stellar vehicles with the name grafted on?